Thriving peregrines have debt to Minn. fans

The Midwest Peregrine falcon nearly went extinct in the early 1960s, but the contributions of university professors over the past few decades helped restore the population through both natural and urban nesting sites.

His passion for the falcons began in adolescence, so it saddened him when he learned they were on the verge of extinction.

"Not only could I not conceive of the peregrine coming back, I had no conception that I would be involved," said Redig, the University of Minnesota Raptor Center founder and director emeritus.

The Midwest Peregrine falcon nearly went extinct in the early 1960s, but the contributions of university professors over the past few decades helped restore the population through both natural and urban nesting sites, The Minnesota Daily reported (http://bit.ly/XPMKuJ).

Beginning in 1982, Redig and the late Harrison "Bud" Tordoff, former Bell Museum of Natural History director, collaborated to breed the falcons in captivity and release them.

Now, the peregrine population has surpassed the number of falcons that existed before they became endangered.

"No matter how you look at it, the peregrine falcon is just one of the most amazing creatures on the face of the Earth," Redig said

Peregrine falcons are lightweight, bird-eating raptors that can reach speeds of more than 200 mph when diving in the air for prey, said Amber Burnette, a Raptor Center program associate.

They nest on high cliffs and tall buildings, including sites in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as on campus, Burnette said.

The widespread use of pesticides like DDT, which was banned in 1972, nearly wiped out the entire peregrine population in North America — east of the Rocky Mountains and south of the Arctic by the early 1960s — Redig said.

In the 1970s, a group of falconers and professors from Cornell University established The Peregrine Fund to crossbreed subspecies of peregrines, but Redig said they lacked the resources to be successful.

In 1982, Redig and Tordoff took matters into their own hands. They bred the falcons in captivity and released them along the Mississippi River, but great horned owls killed all of the peregrines.

After three years without success, Redig said they decided to release the falcons from tall buildings in cities.